Chauncey Hardy's Mother Still Seeks Answers About His Death In Romania

MIKE ANTHONY, manthony@courant.comThe Hartford Courant

Ola Hardy and her attorneys said Thursday that they plan to file a $123 million lawsuit in federal court, focusing on the negligence surrounding the events that led to the death of her son, Chauncey Hardy.

Chauncey Hardy, a Middletown native who played basketball at Sacred Heart, was killed Oct. 9 in Romania, where he was playing professionally. Five months later, Ola Hardy said, she is still searching for answers about the incident, the medical care her son received or should have received, the investigation by Romanian authorities and the trial of the perpetrator, Ionut Adrian Tanasoaia, who has been sentenced to five years in prison.

That sentence is being appealed by both Tanasoaia and the prosecution. A hearing is to take place April 17 in Romania.

In the meantime, Ola Hardy and her attorneys are awaiting results of an FBI investigation. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has put in a request for that report to be made available to Ola Hardy, who with a difficult language barrier and other international communication hurdles has had little luck learning about how her son died and how the killing could have been prevented.

Prosecutors said Tanasoaia punched Hardy on Oct. 9 in a bar in the town of Giurgiu. Hardy fell and hit his head, causing severe brain and neck injuries. He later died after surgery at a Bucharest hospital.

Questions about Hardy's death include how long he was in the hospital before receiving medical attention — Ola Hardy and her attorneys say it was four hours.

Ola Hardy said autopsy results have not been shared with her, and she is having difficulty finding out lmore about the prosecution's case.

Attorneys for Hardy say they expect to have legal options in Romania and the U.S.

Sens. Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal have supported and assisted the Hardy family's quest for answers and justice, and the NAACP has expressed concerns.

"There's no claim of self-defense [by the defendant] here," West Haven-based attorney Richard Altschuler said. "I don't like to play the racial card. Nobody does. But we have evidence to show that [the crime] was not only anti-African-American, this was anti-American. [Ola Hardy] is trying on the civil end to get justice, and we have a lot of ideas how to do that."

Another attorney on the Hardys' team, New London-based Sandy Moore, said the lawsuit would focus on negligence on the part of two hospitals, the club where Hardy was attacked and the perpetrator. Divizia A, the top-tier league in which Hardy's team competed, could be targeted with civil action if Hardy's attorneys determine that the league or its sponsors failed to properly warn or protect players.